Jul 22

Jul 22 Mary Deal

Author Mary Deal

Biography

Mary Deal is an Amazon best-selling, award-winning, multi-genre author, the latter not by intention. The first book she wrote but did not publish for years left her without knowing to which genre it belonged. Her next book was a trilogy of novellas. That one book pointed her toward mysteries which she then went on to write. However, her stories contain elements of several genres, including romance. “All characters have lives apart from the plot,” she said. “It’s what makes them real.”

Mary presently lives in Winterville, North Carolina. Prior to that, she spent twenty years on Kauai in Hawaii, then over two years in Honolulu on Oahu. She has lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in the Upper Midlands in England, and traveled into Mexico and a few states too. Having a background of varied traveling has given her material for stories she could write into perpetuity. Kauai is her most favorite place. She calls the island her second hometown, replacing San Francisco which held the distinction for decades. Mary’s childhood hometown area is the Sacramento River Delta in California which features prominently in her Sara Mason Mysteries series. The second story takes place mostly on Kauai, with the third set in Honolulu. The fourth and fifth stories are already plotted for different exciting locations.

She currently has seven novels, one short story collection, and three nonfiction published. Mary occasionally writes poetry and will publish a book of poetry along with some of her art.

Mary’s Books

“The Ka” is a paranormal Egyptian suspense, and so much more. It’s time travel. It’s slip-stream fantasy. It is an Amazon bestseller! Archaeologists discover a tomb in Valley of the Queens, Egypt that is haunted by the Ka, the spirit of the entombed mummy.

“River Bones, Sara Mason Mysteries Book One,” takes place in Mary’s childhood hometown area of the Sacramento River Delta. Sara Mason discovers a knack for solving cold cases, but not before falling into the clutches of a serial killer. This story contains a strong subplot for Sara’s love interest, Huxley Keane, who searches for his MIA brother in Vietnam. The Awards: Amazon Bestseller. 2009 Eric Hoffer Book Awards - Honorable Mention. 2011 National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA) – Finalist.

“The Howling Cliffs, Sara Mason Mysteries Book Two,” opens deep in the Vietnam jungle following Huxley’s search for his brother’s remains and those of other MIAs. Later Sara remains on Kauai becoming involved in a missing child cold case. The Awards: Amazon Bestseller. 2015 Global eBook Awards – Bronze.

“Dead to Life, Sara Mason Mysteries Book Three,” takes place mostly in Honolulu Hawaii. A key, misshapen by a bullet, was discovered in the Vietnam jungle that could belong to Huxley’s brother, Rocky. Sara and Huxley begin to search for Rocky’s girlfriend from fifty years prior to get the key identified. If they can match the key to her it would mean that Rocky was no longer an MIA but died in the jungle.

“Down to the Needle” opens with Abi Fisher having searched decades for her abducted child. She learns about a woman inmate who has no family and who faces lethal injection for a crime she did not commit. Abi fears the inmate is her long-lost daughter and strives to get the conviction overturned. The Awards: Amazon Bestseller. 2017 Global eBook Awards – Bronze. 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards – Winner.

“Off Center in the Attic” is a collection of thirty short stories and flash fiction including humor and nonsense, flights of fancy into other realms, fright, disgust and disappointment, silliness and wonderment, and the sadness of reality and heartache.

“Legacy of the Tropics” was the first book published under a different name but has been rewritten. It includes three entwined novellas that began as separate novellas of island living and dangers. Mary said, “The stories wrote themselves and finished when they needed to. Novellas were not popular as stand-alone format at the time. I simply went back and rewrote, tying the characters and the plots together,” in these stories of great danger that shatter the myths of stereotypical islands of paradise.

“Sea Cliff – A San Francisco Romance” is a rewrite of a novel written in 1991 and not published till a genre could be identified. Rewriting and updating added urgency to the plot. A woman emotionally scarred by childhood abuse struggles to take control of her life and fall in love. The Award: 2019 National Indie Excellence Awards – Finalist.

“Hypno-Scripts – Life-Changing Techniques Using Self-Hypnosis and Meditation,” written by a lifetime practitioner. The instructions in this book are meant for those wishing to learn and use the techniques of self-hypnosis and/or meditation for self-improvement. Easy, yet powerful scripts provided desired changes. The Awards: Amazon Bestseller. 2016 National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA) – Finalist. 2016 International Book Awards – Finalist. 2016 Global eBook Awards – Silver.

“Write It Right – Tips for Authors” Learn how to polish your writing with tips and examples and make your prose leap off the page. These thorough and often humorous tips were written in response to author queries for articles that explain various problematic aspects when creating different kinds of prose. An Award: 2014 National Indie Excellence Book Awards (NIEA) – Finalist.

“Grief Is Love – A Memoir of Surviving Bereavement” Out of the author’s chaotic grief and heartache from loss of a loved one comes poetry, essays, and advice to help others suffering similar losses.

Other Awards

Mary has written a feature screenplay, adapted from “Promises,” a story in her trilogy, “Legacy of the Tropics.” The screenplay, titled, “Sea Storm,” made the Semi-Finals in the 2009 Moondance International Film Festival Competition. “Not bad for a first effort at screenwriting,” she said.

Her writing projects extend beyond just novels. She writes short stories and flash fiction in any genre. She says, “When a short story appears in my mind, I don’t think about genre. I simply write the story, which dictates the genre.” One of her flash fiction pieces titled “The Last Thing I Do” was nominated in 2009 for the coveted Pushcart Prize.

And Finally

Among her travels, she always takes photographs and cherishes the memories. She also sees her experiences as fodder for her novels. Even now, thanks to digital cameras, she maintains two online galleries and sells prints and personal and household products made from her best images. Still, her first love is telling a great story.

In addition to writing and photography, Mary is also an oil painter. Many people say her flower canvasses resemble Georgia O’Keefe productions. “I consider that an honor,” she says. “But I just paint until I have the look I strive for.” While she says she has more stories to write than she can produce in a short period, so too, does she have many images she wishes to paint. She has stopped taking commissions so she can paint the pieces she finds enjoyable. “Painting is my relaxation,” she says. “It’s not the same when trying to produce something another person wants. I’m not being selfish. Painting is my private time. Writing is my purpose.”